DOTHAN, Alabama — A former criminal justice professor has been acquitted of a sex abuse charge.

The Dothan Eagle reports a Houston County jury found 65-year-old Ronald Phillip Bae of Cottonwood not guilty of molesting one of his students.

The Troy University Dothan student had claimed an attack occurred when she was with Bae at his polygraph and hypnosis center, the newspaper reported at the time.

Defense
attorney Billy Joe Sheffield II said Bae was acquitted of the felony
first-degree sex abuse charge. Sheffield said the jury deliberated less
than 20 minutes before returning its verdict late Wednesday afternoon
before Circuit Court Judge Kevin Moulton.

Dothan police had arrested Bae on Nov. 4, 2009.

Police
charged him with felony first-degree sex abuse involving a 21-year-old
female student at Troy University Dothan, where he formerly worked as a
professor. Sheffield said Bae retired after the accusation became public. Bae
had worked at the university for more than 20 years.